Without the inner gate. — Without must here be understood in a different sense from the without of Ezekiel 40:40, because this is expressly said to be “in the inner court;” it means, therefore, only outside the gateway.
Chambers of the singers. — The description of the chambers in Ezekiel 40:44-46 is not very clear, and has caused very great difference of opinion, and even a disposition to modify the text. But the text as it stands is supported by the ancient versions, Greek, Chaldee, and Syriac, as well as by the Masoretic punctuation. There seem to have been three or more chambers altogether, two at least at the side of the north gate opening to the south, i.e., towards the altar, and one at the east gate opening toward the north. The purpose of the chamber at the east gate is perfectly clear; it was “for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar,” i.e., for those priests who were on duty at the time in connection with the sacrifices. It is not mentioned on which side of the gate it was placed, nor how large it was, but it is drawn on the plan on the north (Plan II., O). The chambers at the north gate (N), however, are called (Ezekiel 40:44) “chambers of the singers,” and yet in Ezekiel 40:45 one of them is said to be for the priests “in charge of the house.” The difficulty arises simply from the very common use of the plural in connection with only one of several persons or things, the other being separately specified. To make it entirely clear, we should say, “the chambers, one for the singers, and one for the priests.” The singers were particular families of the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:31-37; 1 Chronicles 9:33; 1 Chronicles 25; 1 Chronicles 25; 2 Chronicles 5:12), and were not of the priestly order. The general arrangement appears to have been as follows: the offerer brings his victim into the outer court (C) near to the north gate leading into the inner court; there the Levites slay it (at x) and prepare it for the altar upon the tables provided, and then hang its flesh upon the hooks within the porch of the gate; the priests “in charge of the house” in the chamber near the inner end of the gate (N) now notify the singers in the other chamber and also the priests on duty at the altar in the chamber at the east gate (O), that both may enter upon their functions.
A, Altar.
B B B, Outer gate.
B′ B′ B′ Inner gates.
C C, Outer court.
C′, Inner court.
D D, Chambers in outer court.
E E, People’s cooking-places.
F F, Priests’ cooking-places.
G, Building in separate place.
H H, Priests’ chambers.
I, Space in separate place.
J, Chambers adjoining Temple.
K K, Walk.
L L, Screen walls.
M M, Wall of outer court.
N, Chambers in inner court for priests and singers.
O, Chamber for officiating priests.
P P, Pavement.
R R, Wall of inner court.
S S, Steps.
T, Temple.
T′, Holy of Holies.
V V, Columns.
W W, Winding staircases.
X X, Places for killing sacrifices.
Y Y, Platform around chambers.
Z, Porch of Temple.
(46) The sons of Zadok. — By the law all sons of Aaron were entitled to become priests, but in Ezekiel the offering of sacrifice appears to be confined to the sons of Zadok (comp. Ezekiel 43:19; Ezekiel 44:15; Ezekiel 48:11). The reason for this is obscure. According to 1 Samuel 2:30-36 the high-priesthood was to be transferred from the house of Eli, and this was accomplished by Solomon in deposing Abiathar and putting Zadok into his place (1 Kings 2:26-27); but there must have been many other priests descended from Ithamar and Eleazar besides the families of Eli and Zadok, and it is hardly possible that all these could have perished in the slaughter of the eighty-five priests by Saul at Nob (1 Samuel 22:17-19). But the body of the priests must have been thereby much reduced, and it is very possible that in the subsequent disorders of the times so few were left who, outside of the family of Zadok, had not fallen into idolatry, that all who were allowed to officiate at the altar came to be called by his name.
(47) He measured the court. — This is the inner court (C′), in front of the Temple building itself, and was just 100 cubits square. In this stood the brazen altar (A), the measurements of which are given in Ezekiel 43:13-17.
(48) The porch of the house. — Ezekiel 40:48-49 describe the porch of the Temple itself (Z) and may be considered as belonging more properly to the next chapter; still, as this porch projected into the inner court, they are not inappropriate here. The first point to be determined in regard to the construction of this porch is the direction in which its length is measured. The porch in front of Solomon’s Temple equalled in length the interior breadth of the house (1 Kings 6:3; 2 Chronicles 3:4), the thickness of the walls and the chambers at the sides projecting beyond the ends of the porch. The same thing is true here, even if the length should be measured from north to south; the exterior front of the house (independently of the side chambers) was thirty-two cubits, each of the side walls being six cubits thick (Ezekiel 41:5). But writers who adopt this supposition find it necessary to alter the text in order to harmonise the measurements of both verses. It is better to understand the measurements as taken the other way, like those of all the gates of both the outer and inner court. The exterior width of the porch will then be sixteen cubits or just half the exterior width of the house; and the projection into the court will be twenty cubits added to the thickness of the exterior wall and diminished by the thickness of the wall of the house, i.e., 16½ cubits (20 + 2½ – 6), the exterior being thus almost exactly square.
Each post of the porch. — The front wall, on which the gates were hung, was five cubits on each side, and each leaf of the gate was three cubits, giving sixteen cubits (5 × 2 + 3 × 2) for the whole exterior breadth of the porch.
(49) The breadth eleven cubits. — This interior measure subtracted from the exterior gives 2½ cubits for each wall — a fair proportion between the thickness of the wall and the size of the porch.
The steps. — The number is not stated, but is given in the Greek as ten. It shows that the house itself stood upon a still higher elevation than the inner court.
Pillars by the posts. — On either side of the steps, and near the front wall of the porch, was a pillar corresponding to those in front of the porches of the gates. They answered to the pillars Jachin and Boaz of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 7:15-22), and appear to have been placed there for the same general purposes as the obelisks in front of the Egyptian temples.